UC Irvine Symphony Orchestra members unpack their instruments behind the stage of the Bill Medley Auditorium at Santa Ana High School. Santa Ana High orchestra students then help guide their colleagues through the maze of corridors leading to the stage.

As the UCI players prep their instruments, the Santa Ana students sit in the first four rows of the auditorium, watching their role models warm up. They are eagerly waiting for Act 2 of the concert in which they will play side by side with the orchestra.

For the past year, UCI Symphony maestro Stephen Tucker and Santa Ana High School orchestra teachers Joseph Kaye and Victor de los Santos have nurtured this partnership.

Santa Ana High collaborated on a concert with New Hope Presbyterian Church in November 2012. “Dr. Tucker attended, and after the performance he came up to me to ask how he could help our program,” says Kaye.

Before Tucker begins conducting Act I of the concert, he looks out to the high school students in the audience and says: “We are thrilled to have Santa Ana as our offspring. We are here to adopt you. We are here to feed you.”

Tucker, Kaye and de los Santos fostered this partnership to expose Santa Ana High’s orchestra to the collegiate musical experience.

“When (UCI) starts playing, it’s very intimidating. But it makes me want to get to their level,” says Santa Ana senior Jonathan Hernandez. “When I hear them, it reminds me of why I wanted to play music in the first place.”

The high school orchestra visited the UCI campus for rehearsals with Tucker and his students. The students gained a new understanding of music by being on university grounds.

“We had to sing. Most of us aren’t used to singing our parts of the music. But we learned that if we can’t sing it then we don’t truly know it,” Hernandez says.

During rehearsals, UCI orchestra members share the music stands and seats next to them with the Santa Ana students. The UCI musicians mentor their partners.

“My stand partner gave me a lot of good tips, like how to hold my string so my arm wouldn’t get tired so fast,” says Santa Ana senior Maria Rodriguez. “I gladly took her advice because I wanted to prove to her that I’ve improved.”

As Act 2 of the concert begins, a mix of UCI and Santa Ana students take the stage. The musicians gleefully chatter among themselves and exchange last-minute advice.

“Before the performance, I advised the (Santa Ana) students to let themselves become performers. I know that they put in their practice, so all they could do now is play what they practiced and entertain their audience,” UCI Symphony member Pouya Joolharzadeh says.

Many Santa Ana High students say the partnership has inspired them to play in college music programs.

For Tucker, Kaye and de los Santos, their goal is to simply keep this collaboration alive for future students.

“There are so many musicians out there who have gotten where they want to be and don’t want to help others,” de los Santos says. “To have a high-level orchestra like UCI reach out to our community means the world to our kids.”

Conductor Stephen Tucker leads the UCI Symphony Orchestra through Mozart's "Overture to The Magic Flute" during the combined concert with Santa Ana High School's Symphony Orchestra at Santa Ana High. MIGUEL VASCONCELLOS, CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
UCI Symphony Orchestra member Bailey Betancourt warms up before a performance at Santa Ana High School with the school's Symphony Orchestra. MIGUEL VASCONCELLOS,, CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
UCI Symphony Orchestra members Tetsuya Endo, left, and Randy Wang warm up before their performance at Santa Ana High School with the school's Symphony Orchestra. MIGUEL VASCONCELLOS,, CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
Santa Ana High School Symphony Orchestra members wait for the first half of the combined performance with the UCI Symphony Orchestra. MIGUEL VASCONCELLOS,, CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
Viola soloist Matthew Readick performs from Ernest Bloch's Suite Hebraique (Mvt. I) with the rest of the UCI Symphony during the combined concert with Santa Ana High School's symphony at Santa Ana High. MIGUEL VASCONCELLOS, CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
Santa Ana High student Aaron Raya warms up on the tympani before performing with the rest of the combined orchestras of Santa Ana High School and UC Irvine during the combined concert at Santa Ana High School. MIGUEL VASCONCELLOS, CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
Santa Ana High student Marisol Gonzalez warms up on the viola before performing with the rest of the combined orchestras of Santa Ana High School and UC Irvine during the combined concert at Santa Ana High School. MIGUEL VASCONCELLOS, CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
Santa Ana High first violinist Carlos Ignacio Ruiz, second from left, and the rest of the combined orchestras of Santa Ana High School and UC Irvine, conducted by Joseph Kaye, perform the finale from Symphony No. 1 by Johannes Brahms during the combined concert at Santa Ana High School. MIGUEL VASCONCELLOS, CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
The combined orchestras of Santa Ana High School and UC Irvine, conducted by Joseph Kaye, perform the finale from Symphony No. 1 by Johannes Brahms during the combined concert at Santa Ana High School. MIGUEL VASCONCELLOS, CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
The combined orchestras of Santa Ana High School and UC Irvine, conducted by Joseph Kaye, perform the finale from Symphony No. 1 by Johannes Brahms during The combined concert at Santa Ana High School. MIGUEL VASCONCELLOS, CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER

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